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• Louisiana coastal communities face three emergencies from land loss and climate change. • Responses mostly focus on visible emergencies which cannot keep up with the change. • New patterns of thinking and working are needed to overcome conceptual emergencies. • Existential emergencies need to be addressed by re-evaluating culture and identity. • The framework suggests climate change will force transformations in all societies. Climate challenge brings three, not just one, emergencies. These are the visible, conceptual and existential, all of which are urgent and important. The three emergencies are starkly highlighted in Louisiana, where historical coastal development and climate-induced sea level rise is causing visible emergencies in the form of extensive land loss and increased impacts of flooding and storm surges, leading to forced relocation of settlements. The visible emergencies cannot be overcome without addressing conceptual emergencies where current ways of organising, thinking and approaching the challenges are inadequate for the scale, nature and rate of change. The conceptual emergencies, in turn, cannot be overcome without addressing the existential, where different cultures, values and identities are needed to overcome existing conceptual challenges. Louisiana's state government is beginning to go beyond the visible to wrestle with the conceptual and, to some extent, awareness is growing about the existential. The need to address the conceptual and existential will only increase as the limits of current approaches to addressing the visible emergencies become more apparent. As such, the case highlights how climate change will force a transformation that will be characterised by fundamentally new social attributes. The nature of what emerges, however, is not guaranteed and will depend on how those in Louisiana and beyond seek to work with all three emergencies and their interconnections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SummaryObjectives: The objectives of this study were to determine dietary intake of calcium, intake of food components known to inhibit calcium bioavailability, demographic factors related to calcium intake, and the knowledge needs and barriers related to calcium consumption among low-income African–American women in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Methods: Ninety subjects were interviewed at local grocery stores. Calcium intake was determined using a 24-h recall. In addition, a survey was administered to the subjects to determine knowledge needs and barriers towards calcium consumption. Results: Subjects’ mean dietary calcium intake was below the recommended dietary allowance (RDA), with 80% of the subjects having a calcium intake below 75% of the RDA. In addition, intakes of protein and sodium were above the recommended amounts. The general knowledge of the subjects concerning the role of calcium in osteoporosis was high, but this did not have an effect on the consumption of products containing calcium. The most important barriers to dairy product intake were perceived negative taste, perceived association with digestion problems and the perception that they already had adequate intake. Conclusion: Inadequate calcium intake in African–American women is affected by many factors including their lack of awareness of actual consumption. Nutrition education programmes need to address these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the extensive flooding in New Orleans following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, thousands of homes in the flooded areas had significant growth of mold. The potential health effects from exposures to these extraordinary environments are unknown. In February 2006, we investigated a cluster of patients with clinical specimens yielding Syncephalastrum, a zygomycete that rarely causes infection. We identified the cases of eight patients from September 12, 2005, to January 12, 2006, with specimens from sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage, endotracheal aspirate, ear swab, and nasal swab. All patients appeared to be transiently colonized without evidence of infection, even among immunosuppressed patients. Only one patient reported significant exposure to mold (working on mold remediation without wearing a respirator) on the day of his incident culture.